People are calling 9-1-1 to complain about receiving Amber Alerts AGAIN

In the past five months, there have already been four Amber Alerts issued in the region.

Despite this, Ontario residents still take it upon themselves to call 9-1-1 to complain when the alert disrupts them.

Early Tuesday morning, an Amber Alert was issued for a three-year-old boy who was last seen heading from Sudbury to Toronto.

According to police, the subject was with 25-year-old Breana Gooden and was last seen on Monday, May 13.

After the alert was issued, Toronto Police said its communications centre received a “number” of calls from citizens using it as a platform to complain about be awaken by the Amber Alert.

Despite the obvious importance of the alerts, police are still reminding residents that 9-1-1 is for emergencies only, and to keep the communication centre’ s lines free.

Once again our Communications Centre has been receiving a number of calls from citizens using it as a platform to complain about being awaken by the Amber Alert.
REMINDER:
9-1-1 is for EMERGENCIES ONLY. Please help us to keep our phone lines free for real emergencies. Thanks^adc

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) May 14, 2019

Mayor John Tory also reminded residents that being woken up by an Amber Alert “is not an emergency.”

9-1-1 is not a complaint line. Please only call 9-1-1 for emergencies. Being woken up by an Amber Alert is not an emergency. https://t.co/qHRtdpt354

— John Tory (@JohnTory) May 14, 2019

Just before 8 am, Toronto Police said the woman and boy had been located in the Fort York Blvd. and Lake Shore Avenue West area, and both are safe.

Update:
Woman and Child have been located in the Fort York Blvd and Lake Shore Ave W area.
Both are safe.
Thank you for all of your concern and assistance.@SudburyPolice ^adc

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) May 14, 2019

See also

• Here's when, where, and why AMBER Alerts are issued in Canada
• To every a**hole who complained about last night’s Amber Alert - it worked
• UPDATE: 3-year-old subject of Amber Alert found safe in Toronto

Similar to the previously issued alerts, residents are still failing to understand the significance of an Amber Alert and continue to react poorly to it.

According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCFCP), an Amber Alert can only be activated by police agencies and is only issued for the most dangerous child abduction cases, when time is of the essence.

While criteria for issuing an Amber Alert may vary from province to province, basic requirements include:

• The child is under the age of 18;
• There is a belief that the child has been abducted;
• There is a belief that the child is in imminent danger;
• There is information to be released that may help locate the child and/or the abductor (e.g. description of the child, the suspect or the vehicle driven by the abductor)

An Amber Alert must also be issued “within a reasonable amount of time” from the moment of the abduction.